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Compliance

Built-in three-tier compliance

Every transaction on DISTRYB is validated against state three-tier law before it's created — never after. Compliance isn't a checkbox on DISTRYB. It's the foundation.

How compliance works on DISTRYB

01
License verification at onboarding
Every organization — manufacturer, distributor, or retailer — must provide valid state liquor licenses before accessing the platform. Licenses are reviewed and verified before approval.
02
State eligibility per product
Each product is configured with eligible states. Products are only visible and purchasable to buyers in states where the seller is licensed to sell.
03
Transaction validation
Before any order is created, DISTRYB validates the buyer's license, the seller's license, and the transaction type against the rules for that state. Invalid transactions are blocked — not flagged after the fact.
04
Configurable state rules
State compliance rules are stored in Firestore configuration, not hardcoded. Adding a new state means adding a document — not a code deploy.

Four ways to sell, each cleared against state law

DISTRYB is the compliance layer and the rails under four sales lanes. On every one of them you — the licensed business — are the seller and the shipper of record; DISTRYB validates the licence, the parties and the state's rules before an order can be created. Get set up as any licensed business — retailer, brand, producer or distributor — and sell the lanes your state opens.

Wholesale
Manufacturer to distributor to retailer, down the three-tier lanes the state actually opens.
Lanes researched in 51 of 51 jurisdictions.
Ship to a consumer (DTC)
A licensed retailer sends a parcel by common carrier to a consumer, in the states whose shipping permit is written for a retailer.
State law allows it in 8 of 51 jurisdictions. Get set up on DISTRYB to sell where yours does.
In-store pickup
A consumer buys online and collects at the licensed premises, within the shop's own state.
Governed by each state's sale-day and legal-hour rules. Live in Illinois.
Local delivery
The retailer's own trained drivers carry the order to the door, within the shop's own state.
Governed by each state's courier policy, premise type and delivery authority. Live in Illinois; rules staged for expansion states.

What each state can do

Three different questions. Licence verification is whether we can confirm your licence against that state's registry. Wholesale orders is whether we have read that state's rules on who may sell to whom — the three-tier lanes. Consumer shipping is whether a licensed retailer is cleared to ship an alcohol order to a consumer there — the DTC parcel lane DISTRYB validates. DISTRYB is the rails and the compliance check, not the shipper. That last one has nothing to do with your licence.

Verifying a licence is not the same as being open for business in that state — alcohol signup is gated on a separate pair of flags.

A state can permit a lane DISTRYB does not run — a winery shipping its own wine, a distillery shipping its own spirits. Where we have that recorded, the row says so. A row that says nothing about state law means we have not researched it, not that the state forbids it.

Non-alcoholic and CPG ship to all 50 states — they are not governed by three-tier law.

State law allows shipping alcohol to a consumer in8 of 51 jurisdictions
We verify licences inall 51
We have read the wholesale rules in51 of 51

Only one state forbids mailing alcohol outright. Everywhere else the question is who the state writes its shipping permit for — usually a winery or distillery mailing what it made, not a retailer. That is the lane we are building for next.

1 of 51 rows below say “not yet determined” — New Jersey. That means nobody has researched consumer shipping there. It is not a finding that the state forbids it.

ALAKAZARCACOFLGAHIIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMIMNMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKORPASCSDTNTXUTVAWAWVWIWYVTNHMARICTNJDEMDDC
Retail shipping allowedLikely allowed, confirmingNo retail shippingNot yet researched

This map is the RETAIL-shipping lane only — a licensed retailer mailing alcohol to a home. Green means a state's law allows it; grey means that one lane is closed, which is not the whole story: in-store pickup and local delivery are separate lanes, run under each state's own rules through the retailers you work with. Get set up on DISTRYB as any licensed business — retailer, brand, producer or distributor — and sell the way your state allows. Every order is cleared against that state's rules before it is created.

Alcohol mailed to a consumer
Allowed — wine, spirits, beer, rtd

What the last column means, and what it does not

Mailed means one thing: a parcel going by common carrier to a home address. It is not about whether you can sell in that state, and it is not about in-store pickup or your own delivery drivers — those run on a different route, with their own state rules, and this column does not answer for them.

Every state that lets alcohol be mailed to a home writes a permit for it, and the permit names who may hold one. In every state we have finished reading, that is a manufacturer — a winery or distillery mailing what it made. A DISTRYB storefront is a licensed retailer, and Ohio excludes retailers by name: the permit may not go to “the holder of any retail permit in this state or outside of this state”. Ohio spirits are closed for a second reason: the state itself is the only lawful seller.

So a closed row means the door that state opens is not the door we are standing at. It does not mean the state forbids mailing alcohol — one state does that, and it is Utah.

See all 51 jurisdictions in a tableHide the table

Licence verification is live in all 51.

StateLicence verificationWholesale ordersAlcohol mailed to a consumer
AlabamaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
AlaskaLiveResearched →Allowed — beer, wine, spirits, rtd
ArizonaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
ArkansasLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
CaliforniaLiveResearched →Not enabled yet — our reading says California permits itWe are confirming the source before we open the lane. Treat this as “not yet”, not as a finding either way.
ColoradoLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
ConnecticutLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
DelawareLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
FloridaLiveResearched →Allowed — beer, wine, spirits, rtd
GeorgiaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
HawaiiLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
IdahoLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
IllinoisLiveResearched →Allowed — wine, spirits, beer, rtd
IndianaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
IowaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
KansasLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
KentuckyLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
LouisianaLiveResearched →Allowed — wine
MaineLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
MarylandLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
MassachusettsLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
MichiganLiveResearched →Allowed — beer, wine, spirits, rtd
MinnesotaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
MississippiLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
MissouriLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
MontanaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
NebraskaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
NevadaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
New HampshireLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
New JerseyLiveResearched →Not yet determined
New MexicoLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
New YorkLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine and a producer to self-ship spirits. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
North CarolinaLiveResearched →Allowed — beer, wine
North DakotaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
OhioLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
OklahomaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
OregonLiveResearched →Allowed — beer, wine
PennsylvaniaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
Rhode IslandLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
South CarolinaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
South DakotaLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
TennesseeLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
TexasLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
UtahLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
VermontLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here
VirginiaLiveResearched →Allowed — beer, wine
WashingtonLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
Washington, D.C.LiveResearched →Not enabled yet — our reading says Washington, D.C. permits itWe are confirming the source before we open the lane. Treat this as “not yet”, not as a finding either way.
West VirginiaLiveResearched →Not enabled yet — our reading says West Virginia permits itWe are confirming the source before we open the lane. Treat this as “not yet”, not as a finding either way.
WisconsinLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed hereState law allows a winery to ship its own wine. That is a maker shipping under its own licence — a different route from the retailer lane this column describes. We are building for it; it is not open yet.
WyomingLiveResearched →No — the mail lane is closed here

“Not yet determined” means exactly that: we are live for licensing and trade there, and we have not completed consumer-shipping research for that state. It is not a “no”. Those states are worked through in order of how many licences we verify in each, and this page changes as they land.

“The mail lane is closed here” means the retailer-to-consumer PARCEL lane is closed in that state, so a retailer cannot mail a consumer order on it. It is a statement about that one lane — not about the platform, and not a finding that the state forbids mailing alcohol. Where our research records a lane the state DOES open, the row says so.

License requirements

In order to sell alcohol on DISTRYB, your organization must hold the appropriate state-issued liquor license for your role in the supply chain:

Manufacturer / BrandState-issued Craft Distiller, Brewer, Winery, or equivalent manufacturer license
DistributorState-issued Distributor or Importing Distributor license
RetailerState-issued Retail Liquor Dealer license
BrokerState-issued Liquor Broker, Sales Representative, or Solicitor’s License (per state)

Brokers: what a state asks of you personally varies more than any other role — some license only residents, and a few do not recognise an independent commission broker at all. See broker licensing state by state →

Licence requirements vary by state. Where a state's wholesale research is finished and every lane is cited, its name in the table links to a page showing the statute behind each answer.

Get startedRead the docs